On the Sea and on the Track for Cobham’s IBC

Cobham will feature a yet-disclosed new product at IBC and the company will also feature its Nano HDTX and a new receiver platform.

The ultra miniature Nano HDTX is an HD digital video transmitter designed specifically for POV and body-worn applications. With proven Cobham COFDM and H.264 encoding technology at its core, the transmitter provides excellent image quality retention over the wireless link and supports composite, SDI, HD-SDI and HDMI video input formats.

Nano HDTX has almost limitless uses for sports and other applications, and has been used at major sporting events around the world, including everything from motor racing and downhill skiing to camel racing and professional rugby. Earlier this year Cobham had shown the use of Nano HDTX with a head-mounted ‘RefCam,’ a POV camera designed to follow the precise gaze of a sports referee and capture his full view of the game for the audience at home.

Cobham’ is also launching a new receiver platform this year, with 1080p60 4:2:2 10-bit decoding capabilities. Available in 1RU or 2RU configurations, each receiver is capable of decoding two separate HD signals, effectively making them two receivers in one. The unit’s decoding algorithm has been specially engineered by Cobham to ensure full compatibility with all leading encoders. The receiver can also decode MPEG-2 HD.

Cobham has promised a lot of discussion of real world use of its technology on stand. Sure to be shown will be Nano HD TX’ use by Broadcast RF for coverage of the Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby, the crown jewels of British horse racing, for Channel 4 Racing.

Discussion of the upcoming VOR (Volvo Ocean Race) will likely be prominent. Cobham Broadcast is playing a central role in capturing the sights, sound and action of the race for the many thousands of sailing fans who gather in the Race Villages set up in host ports along the route.

Race village visitors and those watching on television or the Internet will see the action as it unfolds in broadcast-quality, HD content transmitted wirelessly thanks to Cobham Tactical Communications & Surveillance (TCS). Cobham TCS systems will combine H.264 transmitters on board the yacht, helicopter and drone platforms to transmit live pictures back to temporary media villages erected at each location the race visits. In the media compound in each race village, a combination of receive systems and IP Mesh networks will receive the transmission and distribute throughout the village. The footage from on-board systems and remote cameras deployed around the village will be sent to the production centre where it will be edited and distributed to the public across all platforms.

The system is small enough to fit between camera body and battery pack and offers up to eight 4G modems, HD-SDI/ CVBS/HDMI input, a LAN connection, satellite/KA-sat/BGAN support and 32GB of removable storage for recording video locally, ready to edit.

The PXW-X500 succeeds the PMW-500 shoulder-mount camcorder and is designed to be a 1080P acquisition tool for a broad range of HD production applications such as TV drama, reality programmes, live productions, ENG and sports production.

Available from 20W to 150W RMS, and designed to adapt to any field situation, the low-power range provides dualcast DVB-T/DVB-T2 coverage extension and benefits from multiple options such as a built-in 1+1 configuration.

Screen has developed the HbbTV Toolbox that integrates closely with the Icareus headend platform allowing a host of applications and features to be delivered including high profile advertising and sponsorship features. www.screensystems.